


Sweet Dreams

by Space_Dingo



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Bonding, Fluff, Grey Wardens, One Shot, Platonic Relationships, Prequel, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 03:55:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17358467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Space_Dingo/pseuds/Space_Dingo
Summary: A prequel of sorts to Dragon Age Origins. Alistair and Duncan have a heart to heart talk on their way to Ostagar. This takes place before Duncan meets our Hero of Ferelden and just focuses and the possible (platonic) relationship the two had.





	Sweet Dreams

The chirping of crickets carried out into the night air as lighting bugs continued their dance through the grass and rocks. Their internal light temporarily marking their location as they blinked in and out of existence. The sun had already made its way down and the last remnants of light in the sky were slowly trickling from orange to a nighttime blue. 

Periodically, the crickets would pause their chorus whenever drunken laughter rang out by the campfire of a medium sized campsite. The men who sat around the fire had just finished their meal and had settled into their nightly ritual of merry drinking. Most of the men wore minimal amount of mail and grey tunics adorned with the sigil of a griffin, marking them as Grey Wardens. 

Ever since King Maric of Ferelden allowed the Wardens back into his country, the Wardens have made themselves at home at a nice Keep personally granted by the king himself. As the years passed, the Wardens hardly left their Keep, rarely venturing out anywhere but to Weisshaupt in the Anderfels. It was even more rare to see them down south in the Hinterlands. Their goal was to go even farther south down to the Kocari Wilds. Lead by the Fereldan Warden-Commander Duncan, they were to scout for strange Darkspawn activity reported to be seen there. It was well known among them that Duncan suspected and feared a possible Blight could be on their hands. It was uncertain why Duncan felt sure that the information given to them indicated a Blight, but it was rumored among the more senior Grey Wardens that it possibly had to do with the mysterious mission Duncan accompanied the previous Orlesian Warden-Commander Genevieve decades ago.

The newly recruited Alistair stumbled away from the campsite, both feeling a little more than tipsy and overcome by the sudden urge to relieve himself. Alistair made sure not to trip over any rocks or roots in his drunken stupor, a little high on the feeling of togetherness. For once in his life, Alistair felt truly happy. Being with the grey wardens had felt like he finally had a place to belong. While spending the last couple of years in the chantry, training to become a Templar, even as far back at his time at Redcliffe castle, Alistair never felt like he had a home. He was always an inconvenience to others. A stain in their presence. But now, here he was in the company of the grey wardens. They were his family now. His true family. Whatever was in their past, it meant nothing here. They were brother in arms with Duncan as their surrogate father. Or older brother. However you like to see it. This was home to him.

When Alistair made his way back to camp, imagining what sort of story he wanted to impart to the rest of the crew, he stopped in his tracks when he noticed Duncan sitting alone on a fallen tree log ways off from the camp. Was he waiting for Alistair? Or did he leave the camp to sit by himself to enjoy some peace and quiet? Before Alistair could come up with a viable reason, Duncan motioned for Alistair to join him on the log. Once sitting next to Duncan, the commander pulled out a flask from his tunic and took a drink. The two of them sat together in silence. While Alistair was unsure what Duncan wanted, he did enjoy being in his presence. He always felt a sense of camaraderie. He felt as if he had always known Duncan. While he had seen Duncan periodically all throughout his life, he never really got to talk to the man until he was recruited. He was very grateful to Duncan for taking him out of the chantry. Alistair wasn't sure how much longer his sanity would last in the place.

“How are you doing, Alistair?” Duncan finally broke the silence that surrounded the two of them. It wasn't so much as a greeting but an actual question. Duncan truly wanted to know about Alistair's well-being and not just an act of polite pleasantries. That's what Alistair liked about Duncan. He was just so human. Wait no. Maybe that wasn't the right word. He is human, but that isn't what makes him who he is. Alistair couldn't put his finger on it, but he definitely felt like it was on the tip of his tongue. In any case, it'll come to him.

“Oh me? Well, you know a few more battered bruises and I can almost call myself one of the boys!” Alistair jokes. How was he supposed to tell Duncan that this man literally saved his life, saved him from a life of servitude to the Maker, saved him from going mad, saved HIM. How was he supposed to tell Duncan he never felt at home until he joined the Grey Wardens? Alistair liked to think he was smart or more like a smart aleck, but he just couldn't find the words to answer Duncan's simple but incredibly hard to answer question. “I'm doing fine. I guess.” He added sounding a little less spirited than before.

A dark eyebrow raised on the older man. The flask half raised to his mouth. He had expected to get a witty answer from the young man, but to also get that feeble response was completely unexpected. “Alistair, if there is anything bothering you, do not feel like you need to hide it from me. If there is anyone bothering you, I would like to know. Although you are new, you are a Grey Warden. You are one of us.” He noticed a twitch of emotion in Alistair's face and he closed the cap to his flask and gave the young man a stern look. “If you are having second thoughts-”

“No!” Alistair quickly shot up. “No. I mean. No. Nooo!” He quickly tried to wave away that suspicion out of his commander's mind. “I performed the joining. There's no way I'm having second thoughts. No. Nuh uh. Not me. Never.” Then what is it? He can see the look on Duncan's face as if he's ready to ask the very question. “Well, I mean, you know.” He tried to gesture words that failed to form in his mouth, but even that confused Duncan more. “No one's bothering me. I'd make sure we'd have bloody noses and a scolding from you first.” He tried to crack a joke again. “I love being a Grey Warden. I mean I haven't really fought my share of Darkspawn yet. Killed a few but I pale in comparison to everyone else.”

Alistair leaned back and looked up at the stars thoughtfully. “I never felt at home until now.” He finally confessed. “Living in Redcliffe, studying and training in the Chantry… I never truly felt like I fit in. But when you finally came to conscript me… that was the happiest day of my life.” A smile spread across Alistair's face as he remembered rather fondly how unhappy the Revered Mother was when Duncan invoked the right of conscription in front of all to see. Alistair remembered how fast he packed his things and followed Duncan away from the Chantry like an excited Mabari at it's master's heels.

The two fell into silence. Alistair his cheeks reddening at the confession and Duncan watching Alistair with an amused expression. 

“I knew your father well.” Duncan broke the silence for the second time. “Your father put great trust in me to see that you lived a good life. It was my honor to make sure you were raised properly. As Commander of the Grey Wardens, I could not be in your life as much as I wanted to… But when I found out that Arl Eamon had sent you off to the Chantry, I felt like it was my duty to finally step in.” Duncan offered his flask to Alistair who accepted. “I did not feel worried about you going through the joining. I knew you would come out on top.”

Alistair handed Duncan the flask after knocking back a few gulps. He never really talked about his father before. Not with Duncan at least. He had grown to resent the man he never knew a bit. Resent being a bastard. Alistair always hated when people spoke about his father. If he was so great why didn't he care enough for Alistair? Yet to hear Duncan talk about him, it felt almost like a new perspective. Like maybe this man who was biologically his father didn't cast him out for being a bastard. He wanted to ask Duncan, but he lost his chance when a couple of voices called out to them.

“Hey you two! Our company not good enough for you?!”  
“Come on back we're about to tell dirty stories!”  
“The booze isn't going to drink itself!”

The other Wardens had noticed their absence and decided they weren't going to have any more of it. The longer the two lingered, the more the Wardens called out. Duncan stood up from the log and pocketed his flask. “Tomorrow, I'm going to be heading out on a different mission. I'm going to be recruiting for some more prospect Wardens. I'll be gone when you wake up, but I will meet you all at Ostagar. So I must turn in early. You go have fun with the rest.”

“Where will you be headed?” Alistair asked saddened at the thought of Duncan parting ways. Duncan smiled at Alistair. “I'm not quite sure yet. I might head back North towards Kinlock Hold or Orzammar. Or maybe head out East towards Denerim.”. A roar of laughter from the camp drew their attention again, but when Alistair looked back at Duncan, he was already headed for his tent. Alistair called after Duncan “Sweet dreams.” He jokingly grinned before making his way back to the campfire.

**Author's Note:**

> I originally had an idea of how I wanted this fic to go after I had finished reading The Calling by David Gaider a second time, but I ended up forgetting what that was and spent half a year on and off writing this short story because I had no clue what the hell I was doing. So please forgive me if this story feels disjointed at times. I'm still an unskilled writer. So any comments and critiques would be great.


End file.
